Sukiyaki

No… I’m not going to bust out singing that Japanese pop song from the 60’s that got renamed for the US market by some culturally insensitive prick record executive. Instead you get my rendition of this ubiquitous dish that’s become synonymous with Japanese food. Not that I have anything against record execs, or even renaming songs, but really… did ya have to name it after a hotpot dish? I wonder how that guy would have felt if I took a song like “Unchained Melody” and renamed it “Beef Stew” in Japan because it’s easier to say and more catchy.

There are many styles of making this, but perhaps the most common way is to cook meat and veggies in a sweet soy sauce based broth at the table. While I’m a big fan of the table top cooking method (especially for Shabu Shabu), I actually prefer to pre-cook the stuff separately and just serve the sukiyaki in a large bowl in the center of the table.

Regardless of how you decide to cook it, it makes for a really simple weeknight meal that requires no more than some washing and cutting of veggies. It’s typically made with thin slices of well marbled beef, but you could really use just about anything. Japanese markets tend to have the meat pre-sliced and packaged. I lucked out and got a pack of wagyu end-cuts (kiriotoshi) for a couple bucks. Because they were the end cuts the pieces were kinda irregular (which would be a problem for shabu shabu), but works just fine for sukiyaki. The most important thing is that the meat is tender and has a good amount of fat marbled with the meat.

For veggies you can use just about anything. I went mostly traditional using Tofu, green onions, bamboo, enoki mushrooms, and chrysanthemum leaves, but I also added some fresh summer squash I got at the farmers market the other day. It’s a good way to clean out the vegetable drawer in your fridge.

Traditionally it’s eaten by dipping the cooked meat into a raw egg, but due to the potential for getting salmonella I wouldn’t recommend it. You could soft poach or coddle the egg, but I still don’t think that would technically be “safe”. Instead I just grate some raw yamaimo (japanese mountain yam) also known as nagaimo which has the texture and slimy consistency of a raw egg when grated. If all this talk of slimy things is turns you off, or you can’t find it, you could always just skip it.

Leftover sukiyaki makes for a great bowl of udon (with some boiled noodles and egg cooked in the broth), or you could turn it into a donburi by reheating it with some beaten egg on top then serving it over a bowl of rice.

for table top cooking If you’re cooking it at the table (I use a fondue pot), double or triple the recipe for the broth and mix all ingredients in the pot and heat. You’ll need enough broth to mostly submerge your food as you won’t get as much heat out of a fondue pot.

for stove top cooking If you’re cooking it on the stove, heat a pan on high until hot then add a bit of oil and sear the beef. You don’t want to cook it all the way through, just enough to brown the meat and get some fond on the pan. Transfer the meat to a plate and set aside.

Add the ingredients for the broth into the pan. There should be around 1/2″ of liquid in the bottom of the pan. Double the recipe if you need more. Start with the aromatic veggies then transfer to a serving bowl as they cook. Then move on the the “other stuff”, then the mushroom, then the leafy veggies, and finish by putting the beef into the stock until it’s cooked (careful not to overcook it). Dump the meat and broth over everything else and serve.

Goes well with some grated yamaimo to dip the meat in and a bowl of rice.

Tasty Tidbits:

Aw, sorry to hear about your disdain for the renaming– I do love Ue o Muite Aruko but I mainly know it as the cover from The Ventures Anyway, it’s been a long age since I’ve had sukiyaki– thanks for sharing the broth ratio! My dad is the only one who used the egg– even as a kid I didn’t really like eggs anyway

http://manggy.blogspot.com manggy

Aw, sorry to hear about your disdain for the renaming– I do love Ue o Muite Aruko but I mainly know it as the cover from The Ventures Anyway, it’s been a long age since I’ve had sukiyaki– thanks for sharing the broth ratio! My dad is the only one who used the egg– even as a kid I didn’t really like eggs anyway

http://www.noblepig.com/ noble pig

This looks so good and I din’t know the song was renamed…!

http://www.noblepig.com/ noble pig

This looks so good and I din’t know the song was renamed…!

http://www.sugarbar.org/ diva

love sukiyaki! really wish i could have some now but think mum’s got saba on the menu tonight, not that i’m complaining!

http://www.sugarbar.org diva

love sukiyaki! really wish i could have some now but think mum’s got saba on the menu tonight, not that i’m complaining!

http://www.cococooks.blogspot.com/ courtney

I love Shabu Shabu. I like that you give your recipe for fresh broths. I see a lot of the prepackaed stuff. I tied the egg and it was OK, but I ready have it without. I never made the association with that song and havent htought about or heard it ages, but your right!

http://www.cococooks.blogspot.com courtney

I love Shabu Shabu. I like that you give your recipe for fresh broths. I see a lot of the prepackaed stuff. I tied the egg and it was OK, but I ready have it without. I never made the association with that song and havent htought about or heard it ages, but your right!

http://closetcooking.blogspot.com/ Kevin

Nice looking sukiyaki. When I make sukiyaki I tend to cook everything in a pan on the stove and then bring it to the table on a serving dish.

http://closetcooking.blogspot.com/ Kevin

Nice looking sukiyaki. When I make sukiyaki I tend to cook everything in a pan on the stove and then bring it to the table on a serving dish.

http://voodoolily.blogspot.com/ Heather

I love sukiyaki, but it’s getting to be too hot for slurping hot, brothy noodles! I need to go somewhere with blistering air-con and get some.

http://voodoolily.blogspot.com Heather

I love sukiyaki, but it’s getting to be too hot for slurping hot, brothy noodles! I need to go somewhere with blistering air-con and get some.

http://www.figandcherry.com/ Christie @ fig&cherry

Those enoki mushrooms look gorgeous – just wilting seductively there on the plate – yum!

http://www.figandcherry.com/ Christie @ fig&cherry

Those enoki mushrooms look gorgeous – just wilting seductively there on the plate – yum!

http://www.hungryandfrozen.blogspot.com/ Laura @ Hungry and Frozen

Yum this looks so good, simple and classic! Love the rant about the music. Unchained Melody would definitely not be so sweet by another name.

http://www.hungryandfrozen.blogspot.com Laura @ Hungry and Frozen

Yum this looks so good, simple and classic! Love the rant about the music. Unchained Melody would definitely not be so sweet by another name.

http://www.rasamalaysia.com/ Rasa Malaysia

Hey Marc, I love your website and absolutely agree with your tagline. I don’t have recipes either when I cook, but for my readers, I started to take my recipes very seriously, especially the measurement. No more guestimate.

Will add you to my blogroll and reader ASAP.

http://www.rasamalaysia.com Rasa Malaysia

Hey Marc, I love your website and absolutely agree with your tagline. I don’t have recipes either when I cook, but for my readers, I started to take my recipes very seriously, especially the measurement. No more guestimate.

Will add you to my blogroll and reader ASAP.

http://allthingsnice.typepad.com/ syrie

Marc, this looks divine. Exactly the kind of thing I’d like for dinner.

http://allthingsnice.typepad.com/ syrie

Marc, this looks divine. Exactly the kind of thing I’d like for dinner.

First off, thanks for all your recipes!Actually, eating raw egg isn’t much of a problem at all. As long as you don’t mix all the eggs together (as, if you did have one bad egg, all the others would be affected), and eat them fairly cold (as heat = bacteria paradise), the risk of salmonella is quite minimal.

This is spoken by the head of food security/quality control for a big meat exporting company, educated veterinarian (not me, but my father).A soft-boiled egg is as “bad” as a whole raw egg.